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Santa Monica High School

601 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405View on map

  • Public
  • Santa Monica
  • 710 seniors
  • 2,588 students

Santa Monica High School is a public high school in Santa Monica (Santa Monica-Malibu Unified) with 710 seniors. In fall 2025, 74% of its 370 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 76%. Its students applied most often to UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), UC Los Angeles (UCLA), and UC Berkeley (Cal). 61% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

74%

274 of 370 applicants, fall 2025

County median 76%

Seniors admitted to a UC

39%

274 of 710 seniors

County median 30%

Seniors who applied to UC

52%

370 of 710 seniors

County median 37%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

11%

31 of 276 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

26%

67 of 259 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 13%

Campus by campus, fall 2025

The share of this school's applicants each campus admitted, beside the campus's rate for everyone else. Hardest campus first.

University of California

Santa Monica High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 2 of 9 campuses, about the same at 5 and worse at 2.

  • Los AngelesAbout the same

    11%

    31 of 276 admitted

    This school11%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.21 (all applicants 3.97)

  • Berkeley12 pts higher

    26%

    67 of 259 admitted

    This school26%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.22 (all applicants 4.03)

  • Irvine6 pts lower

    16%

    28 of 175 admitted

    This school16%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.16 (all applicants 3.87)

  • San DiegoAbout the same

    23%

    58 of 257 admitted

    This school23%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.26 (all applicants 3.93)

  • Santa Barbara6 pts lower

    27%

    79 of 296 admitted

    This school27%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.25 (all applicants 3.92)

  • Davis6 pts higher

    43%

    83 of 194 admitted

    This school43%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.12 (all applicants 3.87)

  • Santa CruzAbout the same

    73%

    149 of 204 admitted

    This school73%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.03 (all applicants 3.88)

  • RiversideAbout the same

    84%

    78 of 93 admitted

    This school84%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.84 (all applicants 3.71)

  • MercedAbout the same

    96%

    72 of 75 admitted

    This school96%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.75 (all applicants 3.70)

Fall 2025. A student admitted to several campuses counts once at each one. All CA is the campus’s admit rate that fall for applicants from every California high school. Within 3 points counts as about the same. GPA is the UC-calculated GPA (weighted, capped).

California State University

Santa Monica High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 0 of 5 campuses, about the same at 3 and worse at 2.

  • San Luis Obispo8 pts lower

    22%

    45 of 207 admitted

    This school22%Overall30%

  • San DiegoAbout the same

    32%

    72 of 223 admitted

    This school32%Overall34%

  • Long BeachAbout the same

    47%

    83 of 175 admitted

    This school47%Overall47%

  • Fullerton8 pts lower

    78%

    62 of 79 admitted

    This school78%Overall87%

  • NorthridgeAbout the same

    92%

    106 of 115 admitted

    This school92%Overall93%

Fall 2025. A student admitted to several campuses counts once at each one. Overall is the campus’s admit rate for all its applicants, from federal IPEDS data (fall 2023, the latest published). Within 3 points counts as about the same.

Where graduates go

Class of 2023 (646 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.

Any college

82%

527 of 646 graduates

UC or CSU

29%

190 graduates

Community college

29%

185 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC10717%
CSU8313%
CA private college457%
Out of state10717%
Community college18529%
Not enrolled11918%
Enrolled in college52782%
Total646100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

  • Gender: Female, Male
  • Race & ethnicity: White, Hispanic or Latino, Two or more races, Black or African American, Asian
  • Student need: Low-income, Students with disabilities, English learners
See the full report

Advanced Placement

20

AP courses offered

2023–24 school year · US Dept. of Education Civil Rights Data Collection

91

AP class sections

Counts every section taught, so it is larger than the number of different AP courses.

48% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

70%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

441 of 630 graduates

A score of 3 or higher on exams or a C- or better in courses. Not comparable with the exam-only share.

2025–26 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)

46%

of graduating seniors scored 3 or higher on at least two AP exams

306 of 666 graduates

2023–24 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)

Subject areas

  • English: 20 classes
  • Fine and performing arts: 2 classes
  • Foreign language: 6 classes
  • Mathematics: 13 classes
  • Science: 18 classes
  • Social science: 32 classes

Academic context

State test (CAASPP), juniors tested in 2026, and the share of low-income students. A–G is the class of 2023. The tick is the county median.

  • Juniors meeting the English standard 83%County median 57%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 56%County median 27%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 52%County median 23%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 31%County median 11%
  • Low-income students 28%County median 86%
  • Graduates completing courses 61%County median 64%

Across California

Year
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Other schools in Santa Monica-Malibu Unified and nearby